The ongoing University of New Brunswick (UNB) strike has not only left its own students without class, but also those at St. Thomas University.
The Association of University of New Brunswick Teachers has been on strike since Jan. 14, demanding better pay and working conditions.
On Jan. 27, New Brunswick Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Jody Carr ordered faculty and the administration back to the bargaining table.
The union said it is fighting for wages comparable to other Canadian universities, which are on average 10-15 per cent more than the wages of the New Brunswick teachers’ association, according to the organization’s website.
The strike means no classes for approximately 11,000 students.
Miriam Jones, president of the association, said via email that while members are concerned about students’ anxiety, the strike shows the importance of these issues.
“You’re excited at first,” Aiden Manley, a second-year UNB student in business administration, said.
“But the implications start to sink in. Our tuition dollars [are] going down the drain . . . even if they reach a resolution soon, we still won’t receive what we paid for.”
“It’s a bit of a break from the stress,” Manley said. “But as the strike extends, it adds more and more stress too.”
The strike is also affecting students from St. Thomas University who take courses at UNB.
Woody Brown, a second-year economics student, said although his St. Thomas classes are proceeding as normal, his introduction to business and financial accounting classes have been suspended.
“I’m essentially a part-time student,” he said. “But I’m still expected to pay my full tuition to St. Thomas. It’s nice to have time to sleep in, but I’d rather be getting my education . . . if the winter semester runs into the summer that may stop me from getting a job back home in Alberta.”
Leah Theriault, a UNB law professor, has been openly opposing the strike.
“I do not believe that educators should refuse to educate, for any reason . . . our primary responsibility is to educate students; without them, none of us would be here,” she stated in an open letter to her colleagues on her website.
Although the strike has not extended for a long enough period to discuss refunds, Manley said UNB is extending the tuition payment deadline.
The housing department is also allowing residence students to turn in their keys and go home to wait out the strike.
They will then give them credit for the number of days their key is turned in as days they can stay in residence if the strike extends the winter semester into the summer.
St. Thomas is proceeding with regular payment schedules for all students. Still, the University of New Brunswick Student Union is unhappy.
The strike is costing each student $48 dollars per day, and with 11,000 students, that means about $528,000 per day wasted, the union stated on its website.
